Material world
Lucy Smith took up sewing her own clothes when she inherited her Nana Joan’s sewing machine. These days she operates an online boutique, Joan’s Fine Fabric, specialising in natural-fibre dressmaking fabrics.
In recent years there has been a resurgence in sewing with the emergence of a new generation of independent sewing pattern and fabric designers. New sewists can browse patterns from home, have all their supplies delivered and follow a sew-along video tutorial to create their own garments. Experienced sewists who put down the tools years ago are discovering they can buy high-quality fabric and patterns again locally.
The covid pandemic gave the sewing revival the final push it needed with many pulling the sewing machine out of the cupboard and whipping up some loungewear during those long days at home. At the end of 2021, Lucy opened the online doors of Joan’s Fine Fabric after struggling to access the fabric, prints and designs during lockdown that were only available overseas.
At her home in Waipu, Northland, Lucy’s workroom is bursting with colour, print and texture from European Laundered Linens to the cult favourite Liberty Tana Lawn (TM). The much-desired and hard-to-get Merchant & Mills linens are the most popular. The soft and crinkle-free cloth is made from dyed flax yarn woven by specialist mills, and tumbled to create the signature finish in striped, gingham, checked and solid colours. Pattern lovers will be delighted by the Fabric Godmother offerings with vintage prints brought back to life on luxurious viscose and cotton fabrics.
Lucy showcases a range of sewing pattern designers at Joan’s, offering both traditional paper patterns and the newer downloadable PDF format along with a convenient large-format printing service. “You might be surprised to learn that we have a number of local sewing pattern designers,” she says. “Papercut Patterns is a well-known business based in Nelson with beautiful designs for experienced sewists. Paper Theory is also really popular, and their most famous design, the Zadie jumpsuit, is a great one for advanced beginners.”